Enabling Research for Competitive Agriculture (ERCA)

The Enabling Research for Competitive Agriculture (ERCA) program aims to strengthen innovative agricultural policy research in Canada. The program engages external policy research groups to enhance the competitiveness of Canadian agriculture and agri-food products in global and domestic markets.

The ERCA program is organized around five multi-disciplinary research networks. Each network brings together clusters of policy researchers from academia and other research organizations to engage in collaborative, innovative, and policy-relevant research. Networks produce high quality agricultural policy research, disseminate their results, and provide training opportunities for graduate students in their areas of focus.

ERCA also aims at improving the collaboration between the networks it funds and other Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada initiatives such as Agri-foresight and Value Chain Round Tables.

ERCA replaces the Agricultural Policy Research Networks initiative under Agricultural Policy Framework. While these initiatives are similar, ERCA puts more emphasis on dissemination of knowledge to maximize benefits for producers and industry.